1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique of managing man-hours needed for an image print processing in an image forming system in a unified manner.
2. Description of the Related Art
With increasing digitization of a printing workflow environment, a Print On Demand (POD) environment combining a job generation application, a job management server, an electrophotographic printer, and ink jet is suitably developed in an image forming system. In the POD environment, delivery of various kinds of jobs in small lots is demanded in short delivery time. An image forming system that performs workflow processing is discussed by Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-304814.
A job definition format (JDF) is known as a standard format specification that defines jobs and communication thereof in a POD printing workflow. An image forming system based on the JDF specification manages printing costs by using a server application called a Management Information System (MIS). A job defined by JDF data will be referred to as a JDF job below.
The MIS collects not only information about consumables such as sheet and toner concerning each JDF job, but also information about actual working hours of operation performed by a worker in an image forming apparatus as cost information of human resources. Work performed by a worker includes information registration about and supply of consumables such as sheets and tint adjustment work in image processing.
Information about working hours collected by the MIS is used as a standard index to calculate a cost estimate by checking against print requirements in a printing company. Since the estimated value calculated based thereon significantly affects order competitiveness, it is very important to correctly measure costs actually required for printing.
On the other hand, some image forming apparatuses that perform print processing have an authentication function that prevents a worker from making prints unless the worker logs in for printing. In such a case, the worker performs login processing by inputting preset user account information before starting printing using a user interface (UI) displayed in a panel on the image forming apparatus and does printing work after user authentication is carried out. Then, after the print processing is completed, the worker performs processing for logging out. With this function, it becomes possible to record which worker has performed login and logout processing at what time in the image forming apparatus.
Processing for transmitting working hour information during printing from an image forming system to MIS in the image forming system will be described below.
First, a prepress application configuring the image forming system creates JDF data and transmits the JDF data to the image forming apparatus. The worker performs login processing on a panel of the image forming apparatus when starting work. Then, the worker being logged in onto the image forming apparatus starts some work concerning processing based on a JDF job. The image forming apparatus analyzes the received JDF job to perform print processing or the like. The image forming apparatus manages the timing of logout, records information about working hours of the worker as log information, and notifies the MIS of the log information.
In the MIS, on the other hand, it is desirable to manage content of operations performed by the worker in the image forming apparatus and man-hours thereof in association with JDF jobs. However, there are examples (1) to (4) below in which it is difficult to manage work done by the worker concerning processing based on each JDF job in the image forming apparatus and actual working hours thereof in association with each JDF job in a management system using MIS.
(1) When Print Image Data is Captured by Scanning
An image may be used as a print content image when a printed sheet document is used as an original or by scanning hand-written data. As the workflow, document scanning is performed in the image forming apparatus, but scanning work and a JDF job related thereto are not conventionally associated with each other. As a result, the MIS cannot manage man-hours of the scanning work by associating them with the JDF job.
(2) When Sheet Information is Registered
The worker may perform setting/registration work of information about sheets used for JDF jobs in the image forming apparatus. If such registration work is not performed during print processing, more specifically, the registration work is performed before the image forming apparatus receives a JDF job, the image forming apparatus does not manage the JDF job to be associated with man-hours necessary for the registration work. As a result, it is difficult for the MIS to manage man-hours necessary for sheet registration work by associating them with JDF jobs in such an environment.
Assume a case in which when a job A is being processed in an image forming apparatus, sheet registration work of another JDF job (job B) is performed to enhance working efficiency of the worker. Since man-hours of the sheet registration work used in the job B are mixed with an execution time of the job A, the MIS may not be able to manage correct man-hours.
(3) When Sheets are Supplied or Exchanged
If the worker supplies sheets during printing of a JDF job, it is desirable to manage man-hours of the work as man-hours needed for the JDF job. However, if the worker exchanges or supplies sheets in advance before the image forming apparatus receives a JDF job, working hours needed for the work cannot be managed by directly associating them with the JDF job.
(4) Reprinting
If adjustment work such as setting work of the printing format is already done when an original JDF job is printed, no method of transferring man-hours thereof to a JDF job corresponding to reprinting is conventionally provided. More specifically, there may be fluctuations in man-hours between jobs even though the jobs are JDF jobs of the same content and are done by the same worker.